#the new krypton saga

[somewherefornow]

CLARK KENT/SUPERMAN & KARA ZOR-EL/SUPERGIRL in THE NEW KRYPTON SAGA

[ionkent]

ok but like chris was revamped to be evil due to eugenics so

like I think it's fair to complain about a former abuse victim named after someone who played superman being a villain simply to make a biological son have a villainous rival.

plus a lot of "superfam" posts are actually 'kent family" posts

that being said, more people need to read Steel, and all of both john and Natasha's appearances.

if this the post ur referencing

i dont think ive ever said anything abt wanting chris to be evil just that he doesnt exist anymore thats not an embracement for lor z0d. wanting chris back vs having lz now — both are a separate subject to the fact he's included more than CURRENT canon family members. we can do better than trying to fix dc editorials xenophobia w fandom racism n exclusion 😭

[hotpinkstaples]

finished booster shot and for sure convinced clark doesn’t remember new krypton’s genocide and that NO ONE remembers chris. very little in rebirth indicates that clark actually remembers what went down with sam lane and zod. like yeah he don’t LIKE zod, but he actually grew to UNDERSTAND zod during new krypton. the last major superman arc pre flashpoint really got erased huh. editorial couldn’t deal with lois and clark taking responsibility for their martyred adopted kid, but like, creating a cookie cutter blood nepobaby was apparently a good replacement.

[victorsandvanquishers]

A Man Named Humanity

Fandom: DC Comics

Ships: Gen

Ratings: T+

Warnings: Genocide, preboot/reboot mashup, Geoff Johns compliant

Story Synopsis: In the world before the Flashpoint Paradox, the effects of the New Kryptonian genocide by General Sam Lane of the United States military reach far beyond American soil. On the other side of the world, Jay Nakamura looks up at the sky and wonders why a part of him feels so empty despite all the carnage. After all, the surviving Kryptonians had massacred thousands as revenge for their destroyed planet.

And yet, Jay Nakamura can't help but feel a kinship with the people from the stars.

[Set Pre-Flashpoint, post-New Kryptonian genocide; written for 2024 Superfam Horror Week, Day 6 - Inheritance]

~~~

To have a full understanding of this story, I recommend reading the Pre-Flashpoint New Krypton saga and Superman: Son of Kal El. You don't need to read the Wildstorm books, but you may if you want to experience more despair (and fun!).

I wanted to dedicate at least one story to the honorary member of Superfam, Jay Nakamura. He's my little meow meow and I love to see him suffer (affectionately). Thank you for reading and don't forget to leave a review!!╰(￣ω￣ｏ)

[mamawasatesttube]

i feel like playing kon-el-themed eleven truths and a lie again!!!

[argoscity]

ULTIMATE SUPERGIRL READING GUIDE

since i've been asked a few times in the past for various reading guides for kara, i thought i'd compile them all into one post for the sake of convenience!

this guide has reading orders for supergirl comics in PRE-CRISIS (1959-1985), POST-CRISIS (2004-2011), NEW 52 (2011-2016), REBIRTH (2016-2021), and INFINITE FRONTIER (2021-present).

if you have any questions at all don't be afraid to shoot me an ask!

for each section bolded comics are required, italicized comics are recommended, and everything else is optional!

[PRE-CRISIS]

ORIGIN AND MIDVALE ERA (NOTE: you'll have to flip to the back of each issue to get to kara's section!) action comics (1938) #252, 258, 267, 276, 278-282, 285, 295, 309-310, 313, 317

STANHOPE COLLEGE action comics (1938) #318, 366-368, 372, 374 world’s finest (1941) #169 adventure comics (1938) #381, 386, 391, 395, 397

K-SFTV REPORTER — SAN FRANCISCO adventure comics (1938) #406-407, 410-415, 419-424

VANDYRE UNIVERSITY supergirl (1974) #1-10

STUDENT ADVISOR — FLORIDA (NOTE: every member of the superfamily has a story in the superman family (1974), so you'll have to flip through to find kara's section!) the superman family (1974) #165, 168, 171, 174, 177, 180, 182 justice league of america (1960) #132-134 the superman family #183, 184-186, 187-189, 191-193, 194, 196-198, 199, 200, 201-202, 203, 204-205, 206-207

ACTRESS — NEW YORK the superman family (1974) 208-210, 211-214, 215-216, 217, 218 superman (1939) #373 (second story titled “an eye (and ear) on the world!”) detective comics (1937) #508-510 the superman family #219-222

THE GREAT DARKNESS SAGA (i recommend this storyline in it's entirety, but kara only appears in the last issue!) legion of superheroes (1980) #290-294

LAKE SHORE UNIVERSITY supergirl (1982) #1-12 (cw: nazi imagery in the brief interlude in #12)  supergirl (1982) #13-15 (cw: antisemitism, nazi imagery, depictions of the holocaust.) supergirl (1982) #16-23

LAST APPEARANCES AND DEATH legion of super-heroes (1980) #300-303 dc comics presents (1978) #28 tales of the legion of super-heroes (1984) #314-315 crisis on infinite earths (1985) #4-7

BONUS POST-COIE APPEARANCES christmas with the super-heroes (1988) #2 (last story titled “should auld acquaintance be forgot”) supergirl (1996) #49, 75-80 solo (2004) #1 (third story titled “young love”) convergence: adventures of superman (2015) #1-2

[POST-CRISIS]

ORIGIN superman/batman (2003) #8-13  (or you can watch superman/batman: apocalypse (2010) instead which I recommend! the art is a lot more tasteful and it's a very faithful adaptation of the comic so you won’t be missing out on anything.)

KARA WITH THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES supergirl and the legion of super-heroes (2006) #16-36

LOEB AND KELLY HELL ERA supergirl (2005) #1-5, 9-10, 19 (you don’t have to read any of this since it gets retconned anyway, but if you’re interested in kara’s early characterization, the beginnings of her friendship with cassie sandsmark, or her difficulty fitting in on earth then you’re welcome to read what i’ve provided.)

KELLEY PUCKETT ERA Amazons Attack! teen titans (2003) #47-48  amazons attack! (2007) #3  supergirl (2005) #20  amazons attack! (2007) #4  teen titans (2003) #49

supergirl (2005) #21-22  teen titans (2003) #50, 51-55  supergirl (2005) #25-33

Superman: Brainiac  action comics (1938) #866-870

GATES AND IGLE HEAVEN ERA supergirl (2005) #34

New Krypton (new krypton is one of my favorite events and i recommend it in its entirety, but for the sake of brevity I’ll only be listing the issues relevant to kara.) superman: new krypton special #1  superman (1939) #681  adventure comics special featuring guardian #1  action comics (1938) #871  supergirl (2005) #35  superman (1939) #682  action comics (1938) #872  supergirl (2005) #36  superman (1939) #683  action comics (1938) #873

teen titans (2003) #66  supergirl (2005) #37-42

Friends and Fugitives superman: secret Files 2009 #1  supergirl (2005) #43  action comics (1938) #881  supergirl (2005) #45  action comics (1938) #882  supergirl (2005) #46-47

supergirl (2005) annual 1, #48-50

Last Stand of New Krypton  adventure comics (2009) #8  superman: last stand of new krypton #1  supergirl (2005) #51  superman (1938) #698  adventure comics (2009) #9  superman: last stand of new krypton #2  adventure comics (2009) #10  supergirl (2005) #52  superman (1938) #699  superman: last stand of new krypton #3 superman: war of the supermen (2010) #0, 1-4 

supergirl (2005) #53-57, annual 2, 58-59

END OF SUPERGIRL VOL 5 supergirl (2005) #60-64 supergirl (2005) #65-67

[THE NEW 52]

ORIGIN and SUPERGIRL VS THE WORLDKILLERS supergirl (2011) #1-7

SUPERGIRL and SILVER BANSHEE supergirl (2011) #8-11

SUPERGIRL and SUPERBOY superboy (2011) #6

SANCTUARY supergirl (2011) #12, 0, 13

H’EL ON EARTH superman (2011) #13 supergirl (2011) #14 superman (2011) #14 superboy (2011) #15 supergirl (2011) #15 superboy (2011) #16 superboy (2011) Annual #1 supergirl (2011) #16 superman (2011) #16 superboy (2011) #17 supergirl (2011) #17 superman (2011) #17

SUPERGIRL and POWERGIRL supergirl (2011) #18-20

CYBORG SUPERMAN supergirl (2011) #21-23 action comics (2011) #23.1 supergirl (2011) #24

KRYPTON RETURNS action comics (2011) annual #2 superboy (2011) #25 supergirl (2011) #25 superman (2011) #25

SUPERGIRL VS LOBO supergirl (2011) #26-27

RED DAUGHTER OF KRYPTON supergirl (2011) #28-29 red lanterns (2011) #28-29 supergirl (2011) #30 red lanterns (2011) #30 supergirl (2011) #31 red lanterns (2011) #31-32 supergirl (2011) #32-33

SUPERMAN: DOOMED (this is a whole storyline but I'll only be listing the issues that kara appears in!) superman/wonder woman (2013) #9 action comics (2011) #33 supergirl (2011) #34 superman: doomed (2014) #2 action comics (2011) #35 supergirl (2011) #35

FUTURES END supergirl: futures end (2014) #1

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED justice league united (2014) #1-5 justice league united (2014) annual #1 justice league united (2014) #6-10

CRUCIBLE supergirl (2011) #36-40

FINAL DAYS OF SUPERMAN (kara only appears in the issues i've italicized and bolded, but i put all the relevant issues if you wanted to read the full storyline!) superman (2011) #51 batman/superman (2013) #31 action comics (2011) #51 superman/wonder woman (2013) #28 batman/superman (2013) #32 action comics (2011) #52 superman/wonder woman (2013) #29 superman (2011) #52

[REBIRTH]

KARA IN NATIONAL CITY supergirl: rebirth #1

supergirl (2016) #1-8 batgirl (2016) annual 1 supergirl #9-12

supergirl (2016) annual 1 supergirl #13-20

world's finest: batwoman and supergirl #1-2

ROGOL ZAAR and THE SINS OF THE CIRCLE the man of steel #1-2, 3-6 supergirl #21-33, #34-36

LEVIATHAN and BATMAN WHO LAUGHS superman: leviathan rising special #1 supergirl #34-36 supergirl (2016) annual 2 supergirl #37-42

HOUSE OF KENT action comics (2016) #1022-1023 action comics (2016) #1024-1028

FUTURE STATE superman of metropolis (2021) #1-2 kara zor el, superwoman (2021) #1-2

[INFINITE FRONTIER]

action comics 2021 annual

WOMAN OF TOMORROW supergirl: woman of tomorrow (2021) #1-8

WORLD'S FINEST batman/superman: world's finest (2022) #2-6, 8, 12

A WORLD WITHOUT CLARK KENT and RED MOON (kara is featured in the back-up story! if you want the full context of this plot i recommend reading the full warworld arc in action comics [action comics #1030-1046, superman: warworld apocalypse #1]!) action comics (2016) #1044-1046, 1047-1049

DAWN OF DC action comics (2016) #1051-1053, 1055-1056 superman (2023) #1-3 power girl special #1 steelworks (2023) #1-3

KNIGHT TERRORS knight terrors: superman (2023) #1-2

DAWN OF DC (continued) action comics: doomsday special (2023) superman (2023) #7 hawkgirl (2023) #4 supergirl special (2023)

NEW WORLDS [this arc starts on action comics #1057—kara doesn't appear in that issue but I recommend reading it for context!] action comics (2016) #1058-1060 action comics 2023 annual

JOURNEY TO FERIMBIA powergirl (2023) #5, 6-7

HOUSE OF BRAINIAC action comics (2016) #1064 superman (2023) #13 action comics (2016) #1065 superman (2023) #14 action comics (2016) #1066 superman (2023) #15

UNIVERSE END action comics (2016) #1070-1075

UPCOMING: action comics (2016) #1076-1081 superwoman special #1 [out dec. 11]

[karaspal]

here is a reading guide for post-age up jon, including the good parts only so you guys could appreciate him more.

THE UNITY SAGA

superman (2018) #7 - 10 this is the story that started it all. jon goes on a space journey with his grandpa and comes back seven years older with enough trauma to last him for the rest of his life and more.

THE ONE WHO FELL

superman #29, action comics #1029, superman #30 - 32 during his time in the future, jon discovers his father might not have much time left in the present. worried about his dad, jon tries to warn him and prevent the inevitable. this story is cute and shows clark's love for his son and how proud he is of the man jon has become.

WARWORLD RISING

action comics #1030 - 1035 follows up the pervious story. clark and jon find refugees who escaped warworld. while clark is ready to help 100%, jon thinks it's a trap to lure his father and is vocal about his suspicions. this story lets jon have flaws, and they make complete sense for his character. while he isn't the main main character, it's a great read to help you understand his character.

SON OF KAL-EL

superman: son of kal-el #1 - 6, annual 2021, #7 - 8, nightwing (2016) #89, superman: soke #9 - 18, action comics #1050 after clark leaves for warworld to help the people there, jon is left in charge as the main superman on earth. with his dad gone, his identity being public and the weight of the world on his shoulders, jon tries to figure out the kind of hero he wants to be. this series also introduces jay nakamura, a journalist and a freedom fighter jon falls in love with. the final three issues is jon's reunion with his dad.

DARK CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS

dark crisis #1 - 7 with the whole justice leauge dead, jon tires his best to keep the world spinning and the people in it hopeful. he goes around, trying to form a new justice league. this story shows how jon truly is his father's son and that he deserves the title "superman", as well as his strengths, and his undying spirit.

RISE OF METALLO

action comics #1051 - 1056 clark comes back from warworld with twins, whom he and lois later adopt. jon struggles seeing his parents raise the kids in a way they couldn't raise him because of the time they lost. still though, jon tries his best to be there for his new siblings.

this is jon's main timeline since he came back from his space trip. those are the required stories. bellow, i'll list some comics that aren't necessary to understand him, but are nonetheless good.

THE SUPERMAN OF METROPOLIS

future state: superman of metropolis #1 - 2 this is a future state story that isn't canon. jon bottles the city of metropolis in hopes of saving it. the story follows the consequences of his choice.

OUT THERE

dark crisis: worlds without a justice league - superman #1 do you wonder what would've happened had jon grown up with his folks? do you wonder what he would've been like had he not spent his formative years in a volcano prison? well, this is a story for you. this is clark's perfect world, and in a perfect world, he gets to see his boy grow into a man.

NIGHT AT THE CIRCUS

nightwing (2016) #101 - 104 (back up story) nightwing investigates a mystery in the circus and calls jon for help. the story is a cute team-up between the two.

A HEART IN METROPOLIS

action comics #1059 - "a heart in metropolis" (back up story) jon and jay struggle to find time to spend together, with life getting in the way. finally, the boys find the time to go on a date.

MAGICAL MYSTERY CUBE

superman & robin special #1 cute jon and damian team-up. if you like the super sons, this is a story for you. it shows that their friendship can still work, even with jon being older now.

ELECTRIC

lazarus planet: assult on krypton #1 - “electric” during the lazarus planet event, a common criminal gets powers and decides to join jon in helping people. their dynamic is fun: a righteous hero and a flirty villain. even though i don't particularly ship them, i still enjoyed their interaction.

this is it, guys. this is the list. happy reading! :)

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

Dick Grayson:

8, 19, 25, 27, 28

Chris Kent:

6, 17, 23, 27

Dick Grayson

8) DISCOWING FTW

19) I think probably shipping him with any of the Fab Five but Donna especially. They’re clearly platonic life partners, not a romantic couple (Looking at you Mr Chuck Dixon)

25) Maybe Graduation Day and the subsequent Outsiders series. Looking him being competent doesn’t translate to him being the resident jerk of his team. He built trust with the Titans for a reason.

27) A trio of you may from the marvelous competition: Peter Parker, Kurt Wagner and Clint Barton. With Pete they are Heart of the Heroes’ Guys, while Dick, Clint and Kurt are all circus folks XD

28) People might say firing that Power Stripping device in New Order but I counter with that entire plan involving Kaldur being a double agent and faking Artemis getting killed by him in Young Justice Animated to take down the Light. While successful, there could’ve been ways to argument it without being more Batman esque about it.

Chris Kent

6) N/A for the ship itself but rather I am not fond of the weird again up for him to date Thara who even before the whole thing was still clearly much older than Chris as seen in canon as she was there even before Krypton exploded, being abducted in Kandor by Brainiac. Yeah just make those two more contemporary with each other and not requiring artificially aging up Chris, Pretty Please

17) “Mo…ma..” If only it was treated more preciously back then but alas, his birth mom Ursa and him were living under Zod’s authoritarian roof in the Phantom Zone at that time

23) He marries Thara (in my version it’s a slow burn from childhood crushes to high school sweethearts and eventually married after graduation), and the two raise a kid together and it’s a whole family of Kryptonian super heroes

27) Son Gohan from Dragon Ball. In particular Gohan as we seen him in the Cell Games Saga and the movie Bojack Unbound. Just two ten year alien kids who are total sweethearts yet can get righteously dangerous when bad guys are running rough-shot and hurting their friends

Thanks for the ask @spider-jaysart

I liked these XD

[levenllan23]

Hello, Tumblr! I’m excited to share with you a sneak peek into my latest project: *Galactic Convergence*. This story is an epic fusion of the Star Wars universe and Mass Effect, blending the mysticism of the Force with the advanced biotics of the Mass Effect galaxy.

**🌌 The Premise:**

In the wake of the Reaper War, Earth has become a dying world, losing most of its core and facing a slow decline similar to Krypton. Humanity’s last hope is the *Starborn Ascendant*, a massive space station serving as their new home. As they journey through dark space towards a distant galaxy, they encounter ancient powers and enigmatic beings.

The main idea of the story

- **The Starborn**: Rare individuals who embody both biotic and Force energies, marked by a distinctive blue-white star glow when their shields falter. These beings represent a unique balance of power, with one being a master of biotics and the other a sage of the Force.

- **The Crucible’s Legacy**: The Crucible, a superweapon that once saved the galaxy, also left Earth in ruins and caused a cascade of damage through the mass relay network, forever altering the balance of power and connectivity across galaxies.

**🛰️ The Story:**

Join our protagonist, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who embarks on a five-year mission aboard the *Starborn Ascendant* at the request of Echo and the Bad Batch. Alongside old friends and new allies, Obi-Wan discovers the mysteries of the Starborn and their connection to an ancient prophecy.

**🎨 Cover Art Reveal:**

I’m thrilled to reveal the cover art for *Galactic Convergence*! ] This artwork captures the essence of our story, blending elements of both galaxies into a stunning visual.

**🌠 What to Expect:**

- **Epic Space Adventures**: Explore the vast reaches of space and the intricate dynamics of two intertwined universes.

- **Rich World-Building**: Dive into the lore of both Star Wars and Mass Effect, discovering how they converge in this new narrative.

- **Deep Character Development**: Follow Obi-Wan and other key characters as they navigate their roles in this evolving saga.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have about *Galactic Convergence*. Stay tuned for more updates and insights into this thrilling crossover!

[triscribe]

This afternoon's To-Do List:

-make myself abandon the week-long search for my watercolor bookmarks and just make a new set so I'm not holding up the book @acepandemi ordered any longer

-finish up my last few Artfight sketches and either commit to coloring them or not, then post

-make a more coherent outline for my 'So you need help picking an Amkyn race for your new Wolfen and Warlocks character' quiz and add a few more questions

-settle in with music, snacks, and my copy of Fire and Blood to work on the next segment of my DC in Westeros saga/fic/thing (so far I have Clark's ancestors escaping the Doom of Krypton and Tal-El the Conqueror's efforts to unite the seven kingdoms under his rule, but I gotta flesh out the next few generations a bit more before I get to the 'present day' stuff)

I can probably cram all that into the next five-ish hours before dinner, right?

[ultfreakme]

I mean no offense by this, but there is no need to bash on my boy Chris just because. I care about him. And I'm not even salty about Jon's age up. Matter of fact, the age up is the best thing to happen to his character. He is way better as an adult in my opinion. Before that he was just Clois' Cute Kid with a cute kid personality, but nothing special.

And no, Chris isn't better as Lor Zod. Clark adopting him and doing for a kid what his folks did for him when he crashed no Earth is way better than Zod being a bad father and Chris growing up with some of the worst people in the Galaxy. But to each their own I guess. Just no need to trash on one character to uplift another.

I wasn't bashing Chris as a character, I was just genuinely under the belief no one could give that much care for a character whose appearances were so few and characterization so sparse, especially as Clois's son. This was Geoff Johns' fault for not delivering on the themes you brought up. But you're right, to each their own, and the themes that were at least attempted at being explored were pretty good. I think you'd enjoy Warworld Saga a lot if you like the theme of Clark adopting new children and the idea of breaking abuse cycles!

I personally like Chris as Lor Zod better because the abuse in the Chris arc, for me at least, was under-explored and made no sense for Zod & Ursa's characters (not that i think they won't be abusive, just that how it was written made no sense).

I'm a more recent reader for comics so the recent Zod things I read were the Bendis run where the Zod fam was going at it against the Kent-Lane Kryptonian fam, and Kneel Before Zod. Lor Zod is still an abused child, he's the same age as 'Chris' was when he was sent to earth before, but Lor's abuse is far more sinister, defined, and in-character for Zod & Ursa.

We are told Chris was abused. But why? Zod and Ursa being the bad guys isn't enough of an explanation, & if Geoff Johns seriously wanted to explore this topic, he should've invested more emotional effort. ZodUrsa went to great lengths to concieve Lor, why on earth would they abuse him in a way that made Chris just hate them? Without any specified purpose? He was their only shot for all they knew, why did he not tell Clark about Zod? Why did they jsut never discuss anything? Clark can detect lies so if Chris was told to lie to Clark about his parents being ZodUrsa, why didn't Clark call it out?

Lor's abuse is specific, it makes sense for Zod and Ursa as characters, and it definitely has an impact on how Lor acts. Lor is their weapon, their heir, the future ruler of the Krypton they envision. He is therefore made into a person with no empathy for others, the perfect weapon meant to lead New Krypton. But he is still an abused child who wants love from his parents. Currently, he's realized Zod and Ursa genuinely don't care about him as their child, and they banished him for questioning Zod's authority. Lor at least, has more agency from what I've seen. He lashes out, he is unpleasant, he is still a child who wants to just be, loved. He feels more compelling to me because Lor isn't a perfect victim, far from it.

And abused kids can have agency, which Chris just, did not seem to have at all in the Action run I read. Otho and Osul are characters in their own right despite the abuse they suffered, and the dehumanization. I think Geoff Johns fumbled writing Chris, but I'm glad the fandom seems to have found his story compelling nonetheless! Sorry fi my post came off like I had some grudge against Chris specifically, it was more about how people react to Jon's age-up.

Hope you have a nice day.

[somewherefornow]

THARA AK-VAR/FLAMEBIRD & CHRIS KENT/NIGHTWING in THE NEW KRYPTON SAGA

[empressofthelibrary]

What are your top five favorite DC stories? The ones that make you go feral/bonkers? Do want any of them to become movies if they aren't already?

So, my basic answer to "do I want it to be a movie" is no, because a lot of the time, the story suffers from being disconnected from the events of the concurrent comics and the much shorter timeframe of a movie. I do want my superhero movies to be based on or inspired by events from the comics, but... If I want the story in the comics, I'll read the comics, y'know? I dunno, I have mixed feelings on it. And trying to jump the gun and do, like, a Flashpoint story for the first Flash movie is just... That's dumb, don't do that. That's like doing Parallax for the first Hal-as-GL movie in a series. Don't do that.

At least, that's for the big multi-book arcs. The shorter stories? Ones that only took an issue or two? I could see that happening much more easily.

I also binge-read, which combines with my memory problems to make it hard to pick out individual stories. However, in no particular order, and definitely leaving other favorites out:

The issue where Wally had to transport that lady's heart across the country. That was cool and I loved it. It's been adapted to the small screen at least once, and that was good too, but it just hits different in the comic

The Impulse arc with Bart finding out about Preston's home life. That shit hurted.

Roy finding out about Lian existing -- y'all got to see me go insane about that in real time over on my comics blog, actually

Last Son/New Krypton/The Saga of Christopher Kent and His Brief Existence Before Detective Comics Forgot He Existed (i am still not okay, damnit, I want my boy back!)

Donna trying to sort through the million retcons and figure out who the hell she even is before her wedding and Dick helping her. Peak wondertwins right there. I love them so much.

[hotpinkstaples]

editorial losing out on SO much money with the clark/chris/zod/jon mess…. blend the different canons, pop memories of chris back into clark, pull in the bendisboot mess where zod ends up a grandpappy to el babies, attract the zod stans, the game of thrones stans, gay people looking to read a mess, you name it….. so much potential 😔

[thevindicativevordan]

Year in Review: 2022

Damn what a year. Not his best but definitely one that we will probably look back on as the defining year of the 2020s for the character. Held off on posting this until practically the last minute just to avoid any final surprises for Superman in a year that's been full of them.

Comics

On the comics side this was another great year. PKJ brought the Warworld Saga to an overall satisfying conclusion, wrapping up a storyline that brought the character to one of his lowest points ever at the start, and ended with Superman ascending triumphantly to new levels of power. While he fell short of his stated goal in differentiating Mongul from Darkseid, he did successfully create a Warworld brimming with future storytelling potential, and his Mongul is an entertaining foil for Superman regarding parental influence shaping their character. The post Warworld Saga issues have been solid, and I thought he, Williamson, and Taylor handled the restoration of the secret identity in Action Comics #1050 as best as they could have. Sad to see Federeci go but he gave us some all time great Superman covers and interiors regardless, and there's always a chance he and PKJ might reunite for a Superman BL book.

Mark Waid managed to actually live up to the hype surrounding his return to DC, with his World's Finest series being easily the best thing he's written since Daredevil. Convinced me to care about Magog outside of Kingdom Come for the first time ever, no mean feat. Champions had made me want to keep Waid far, far away from any teen characters ever again, but his writing for Dick, Kara, and the Teen Titans has been shockingly great, to the point calls for Waid to write a Titans book no longer strike me as utterly insane. Dan Mora of course is a key part of the book's success, his visuals being critical to selling the Neo-Silver Age atmosphere, and he managed to do the impossible: make Composite Superman cool. Many artists have tried to modernize that design, Mora finally succeeded by tossing everything out but the basic concept of a Superman/Batman merger. Starting from that simple idea he created a new design that captured everyone's interest.

Tom King stands out as someone who did excellent work with both Superman and Supergirl. His Dark Crisis Superman tie-in was a powerful exploration of Clark regaining the lost years with Jon. Burnham as always was the perfect fit for showing both characters wrestling with deep seeded emotional issues, and plenty of gore filled fisticuffs. Meanwhile he gave Kara her first standalone "classic", which has proved quite popular in trade sales judging both from King's own words and the Amazon sales list that I've seen. Bliquis Evely's art is for Supergirl what Frank Quietly is for Superman, scenes like the one where Supergirl takes red kryptonite to go fight space monsters are permanently seared into my brain due to sheer beauty and spectacle.

Elseworlds wise we had Venditti and Torres giving us the Superman III that never was with Superman '78. An entertaining execution of the standard "Brainiac shows up and tries to bottle Superman/Metropolis" plotline with a few twists that wrapped up this year, it had a few genuinely novel ideas that shaped my perception of Brainiac. Venditti also did a World of Krypton mini that retold the story of Krypton’s final days. Writing was mediocre but Oeming’s art is beautiful and was enough to keep me from dropping the book. Russel is doing a great job with a "Life Story" for Superman in Space Age, even if I wish he didn't give Batman as many pages as he does. Would buy an Absolute just for all that Allred art regardless, Allred is a vital component in my enjoyment of that series. Over at the Marvelous Competition, Gaiman and Buckingham are at last giving us the resolution to their Miracleman run. Unsurprisingly I am greatly enjoying it and very excited to read where it goes.

Sadly while Clark had a great year, and Kara didn't do bad herself, there were a number of crashes and burns too. Jon and Kon had a horrible year. Not since Byrne has a new Superman been given such a totally broken foundation, with Taylor doing his damndest to smother any potential Jon ever had. At this point I no longer care about Jon until they get him out of Taylor's clutches, which thankfully may be soon judging by his words in some recent interviews. Only bright spot for me regarding Jon was that, terrible as Dark Crisis was, Williamson wrote a really enjoyable and scrappy Jon there that reminded me of why I was interested in him being Superman in the first place. Kon meanwhile was in a garbage event tie-in that did zero of worth with him. 2022 ends as one of Conner's worst years ever easily.

Media

Outside of comics the simplest word to summarize Superman's treatment would be chaotic. Cavill makes his shocking return to the role for film, greeted by joyous fans!... who don't show up for Black Adam which bombs hard. Yet word is released that Man of Steel 2 is in the works, to much anticipation and speculation!... until Gunn and Safran get hired to run DC and promptly cancel MoS2, with Cavill acknowledging that his time wearing the cape has come to an end. Paired with this announcement is word that Gunn is writing the script for a new Superman reboot, and that Coates/Abrams project continues to be worked on as an Elseworld project. Other than Clark being already established as Superman, we know absolutely nothing about the proposed film, which didn't stop meltdowns across the Internet as the Cult finally realized that the Snyderverse was well and truly over. Momoa may be switching to Lobo for the DC cinematic universe, and if they're already talking to him about playing the role, it's a safe bet the first place he'll show up is the new Superman movie. The new DCU "Gunnverse" therefore is betting it's future on Gunn being the first one to succeed since Donner in adapting Superman, which means that the new head of DC is personally invested in ensuring Superman succeeds because it's his job on the line. At least he mentioned on Twitter that he loves Morrison's Superman, and he's been posting Andy Kubert art from Up in the Sky! which is very encouraging to say the least. Going from Snyder to Gunn might end up being the best upgrade Superman has gotten since Donner took over the first movie.

Another live action Superman got his second season this year and it was judged to be a step down from the first. Hoechlin, Tulloch, and Parks all did excellent with what they were given, and the actress playing Parasite tried her best with the flimsy characterization and lines she had to deliver. Jon's actor departed the show and was recast, whether that will cause a change in direction for the character is up in the air.

Animation was the best medium for the Supers outside of comics. Young Justice S4, while retreading old ground regarding Conner being reduced to a weapon, at least treated him better this year than the comics did. He got his happy ending with M'gann, and the show's take on the Zods was the best since Shannon. The season ending on a post credit tease for Kara becoming one of Darkseid's Furies, which is never getting followed up on unless that deal with Amazon bails the show out again, is hilarious. Fucking Weisman chooses to end the series on another big Darkseid tease despite knowing that it wasn't renewed for more seasons! If YJ is finished for good this time then I am at least satisfied with how Conner's story ended, and don't mind if that is the end. Jon and Krypto got entertaining animated movies too with Battle of the Super-Sons and League of Super-Pets, neither of which was anything special, but certainly worth a watch for anyone craving more Superman content. Whether either will see a sequel remains to be seen.

Video game wise we got the first WB cross-property brawler in Multiversus, with Superman in the starting line-up. Found the game fun enough, although it did nothing to diminish my craving for a proper Superman solo game. There were also multiple Superman Easter Eggs in Gotham Knights that referenced him directly or members of his family. Perhaps teases for future DC projects, perhaps not. Not sure I even want WB Montreal to attempt a Superman game after the Wattpad fanfic tier bullshit they submitted for Gotham Knights. Outright Games is also making a fun looking JL: Cosmic Chaos game that has the team dealing with Mxy.

Future

Next year is Superman's 85th and it looks like it will be a milestone anniversary indeed. First up we have PKJ's Action book switching to be more Superfamily focused starting in January, pitting them against a revamped Metallo. He's teased that after the Metallo arc is done, coming up the next arc will feature another revamp of a Superman fan favorite Rogue, a Multiversial Supermen team up is happening, Superman and Constantine may end up working together, and revealed he has ideas for Maxima, Toyman, Mxy, and Bizarro. Then in February Williamson is on a new Superman ongoing with art by Campbell and Dragotta, with a tone aiming to be reminiscent of the STAS cartoon. Finally we have Taylor launching a new Jon mini where he teams up with Val-Zod to stop Ultraman from killing variants of his dad across the Multiverse. Totally on board with PKJ, interested in Williamson, skipping Taylor entirely. Waid is continuing on World's Finest for now, and has teased there may be more spinoffs coming out of that series. I expect something involving Magog to come at some point in the future.

Waid and Yang are also overseeing Lazarus Planet which is an event that will shake up the status quo by giving characters new powers and changing the powersets of those who already have them (such as Jon getting the Electric Blue powerset). Hoping to see Waid and Yang use Clark, Jon, and Kenan in the event.

For upcoming Superman and Super adjacent characters comics that are for sure happening, first we have Steelworks by an unknown creative team (praying it's Pak writing) about John Henry Irons and Natasha working together to reshape Metropolis with their tech. Venditti is already writing a second season of Superman '78, no word on if Torres will return too. Porter's Superboy: Man of Tomorrow mini with Jahnoy Lindsay comes out next year. Premise is very similar to King's Supergirl series but this has been described as Superman meets DBZ which is definitely different tone wise from what King did. Christopher Priest is reuniting with his old Deathstroke team to make a Superman: Lost mini telling what happens when Superman is gone on a mission that's only a little while for everyone else, but centuries for him. Now's the perfect time to let Priest deconstruct Superman while the mainline books do more straightforward storytelling. While not officially announced, Waid and Hitch's Superman: Testament Black Label book is said to be coming out next year per Hitch himself.

More uncertainly there is Mark Millar saying he's having discussions regarding doing a Superman book for DC again, whether that's just typical Millar making a play for attention before announcing another Millarworld project remains to be seen. Geoff Johns may be working on a Legion book, his Flashpoint Beyond series teased a War of the Four Legions story that would doubtlessly result in the Retrobook ousting the Bendisboot from being the "canon" DC future. Would also no doubt restore Clark's childhood ties to the Legion and thus make Secret Origin canon in full. Scott Snyder talked about returning to DC in 2023 or 2024 for Metal 3 which he said before would be Superman focused, although given he described Death Metal as a "Wonder Woman" event he may not have the same definition on what constitutes that as the rest of us.

Live action wise, Gunn has said we will get more information about the coming slate, with Superman being one of the projects we'll learn more about no doubt, in Jan. S&L S3 promises a return to Metropolis, more journalism work for Lois, Intergang making moves, and a new Lex Luthor not played by Cryer complicating the status quo. John Henry Irons should remain a key character given Intergang killed his counterpart on the show's Earth, and is said to be involved going off of the solicit for S3. If the writers acknowledged the feedback on what worked and what didn't with S2 then I think the show can find it's footing again. If not I'll keep watching for as long as the Hoechlin/Tulloch/Parks trio keeps getting cool stuff to do.

Regarding animation we have two movies set in the "Tomorrowverse", Legion of Superheroes which stars Kara joining the titular team, and JL: Warworld which is our first movie following the Tomorrowverse incarnation of the JL. There's also a JL/RWBY movie which will have Superman in it, but having never watched any RWBY myself I plan on skipping it. Against all odds and in total defiance of what you would expect, WB chose to send the new Batman cartoon out to be shopped around and keep the new Superman cartoon for themselves as originally planned. A recent leak - which I won't share here - gave us some details on what the show has planned, and what I read has me eager as hell for MAWS to debut.

Despite all the craziness of the past year I feel incredibly upbeat going into 2023. The uncertainty surrounding Superman's film future has at last been put to rest, his new animated cartoon survived the purges, he's got a comic for everyone either out now or coming soon, the Superfamily and his Rogues are getting focus, and Multiversus broke the trend of all the video game Supermen being evil (although there's still Rocksteady's Suicide Squad game to contend with). Quite the turn around compared to where he was a decade ago, even if it doesn't give me everything I want.

[meatyhandbag]

Rebirth new Krypton

so i just finished the new krypton saga from 2008-2010 and it’s left me with ideas on how to do a new krypton in the modern age.

clearly i can’t just do the bottle city of kandor again, even though that was brilliant, because we don’t just repeat other people’s stories in this house, we mutilate them until we can have a legally distinct counterpart, so here’s my thinking.

So Krypton was a space empire that primarily competed with neighboring systems like Xudar, the home of Tomar-Re. And when Krypton blew up, the radiation could only spread so far, and the outer-colonies did manage to survive. BUT, they were now left unprotected from the Xudarian people who wanted to take this land.

Some like Romat-Ru wanted to genocide the whole race, but stable minds prevailed and the surviving Kryptonians were all absorbed into Xudar, most living on the Kryptonian outer colony of Mirao (original name easily could change, but my thinking is it’s kryptonian for “out of Rao’s gaze” or “Blind Rao”. I.,e. the land was so far away the people could barely see Rao’s star in the night sky)

due to time-dilation, there were many generations of the Mirao-Kryptonians, which were not just made of “true” Kryptonians, but other ethnicities such as Xannians and Vathlovians, which also lived on Krypton but were overshadowed by them.